Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Staying Vigilant: The 19th Sunday in OT

[Technical difficulties prevented this post from appearing as planned last Tuesday, while I was on vacation. I apologize for the confusion. See post above.]

My father once served as the chaplain for the
U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.(U.S. Navy chaplains also serve the Marines
and the Coast Guard).I have fond
memories of that beautiful seaside city.In any event, perhaps the only bit of Coast Guard culture that I
absorbed during my dad’s tour of duty was the motto: Semper Paratus, “Always Prepared,” which seems an appropriate
summation of the theme of this Sunday’s Readings, which stress vigilance in the
Christian life.In fact, these Readings
feel like something we might get in November, closer to Christ the King, but
here they are coming to us in the middle of Ordinary Time.Yet perhaps that’s appropriate, because it is
not just at the end of our lives (or the liturgical year) that we need to be
vigilant, but at all times—even and
especially when its literally or metaphorically “summertime, and the livin’ is
easy …”

1.Our
First Reading is Wisdom 18:6-9:

The night of the Passover was known beforehand to our fathers,
that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,
they might have courage.
Your people awaited the salvation of the just
and the destruction of their foes.
For when you punished our adversaries,
in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice
and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

The Book of Wisdom shows up eight times on
Lord’s Days or Feast Days, which is a pretty decent showing for an Old
Testament book of its length.I’d like
to take the opportunity of this reading to discuss some of the background of
the book.

The Wisdom of Solomon, one of the last Old
Testament books to be written, provides perhaps the most thorough treatment of
the final judgment, resurrection, and eternal life of any book prior to the
Gospels.Some see it as a canonical
answer to the agnosticism of Ecclesiastes: if in Ecclesiastes Solomon expressed
skepticism about the life to come and despondency over the prospect of death,
in Wisdom he has found faith that death is not the final answer, and
righteousness finds its reward in the life to come.

The Book of Wisdom was almost certainly written
first in Greek, in the third or second century BC, probably in Alexandria,
Egypt, the premier center of Hellenistic Jewish culture in antiquity.Because of its late origin, Greek language,
and Alexandrian connections, it was not received as canonical in Rabbinic
Judaism, whose roots were in the Pharisee movement in Palestine.However, it was received as canonical among
Greek-speaking Jews in the diaspora
and by the early Church.Indeed, it was
quite popular among the Fathers, who quoted it frequently and explicitly as
Scripture.

In the Septuagint tradition, the book was called
Sophia Salōmōnos (Wisdom of Solomon)
and eventually found a stable place in the canonical order after Job, thus
providing a robust vision of the life to come after Job’s struggles with the
injustices of this present life.In the
Vulgate tradition, the book’s full title is Liber
Sapeintiae Solomonis (The Book of the Wisdom of Solomon), and it was placed
immediately after the “three books of Solomon” (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song)
proper, because the pseudepigraphal nature of Wisdom was long recognized.Falling in this order, the four books
Proverbs through Wisdom present a kind of theological odyssey of the “canonical
Solomon”:

in Proverbs, he
attains the wisdom that leads to temporal success;

in Ecclesiastes,
he despairs of temporal success because death renders it vain;

in the Song, he
discovers that love is stronger than death (Song 8:6);

in Wisdom, he
falls in love with Lady Wisdom and so attains immortality.

The Book of Wisdom falls naturally into two main
parts.In the first (chs. 1-9), Solomon
exhorts the “rulers of the earth” to love righteousness (1:1), which will
enable them to become wise (1:4) and reign forever (6:20-21), following
Solomon’s own example (chs. 7-9).In the
second part (chs. 10–18), the sacred author seeks to demonstrate his thesis
about the connection of righteousness, wisdom, and immortal reign by tracing
and justifying Wisdom’s actions through the sacred history of Israel, from
Creation to the Exodus. One chapter covers Wisdom’s work from Creation up to
the Exodus (ch. 10), whereas eight chapters are devoted to Wisdom in the Exodus
itself (chs. 11-19).

This Sunday’s Reading comes from this last section
of the book, in which the sacred author discusses the plagues on Egypt and the
Exodus.He sees poetic justice in the
fact that the Egyptians were punished by the darkness which heretofore they had
loved as a cover for their wickedness (17:1-21), whereas the Israelites enjoyed
light (18:1-4).God’s justice was also
at work in the Plague on the Firstborn, since the Egyptians themselves had long
before plotted to slay all children
born to the Israelites (18:5-19).The
Israelites also faced plagues of death in the wilderness, but were protected by
righteous, priestly intercession (18:20-25).By contrast, the self-destructive wickedness of the Egyptians reached
its ultimate finale in the annihilation of Pharaoh’s pursuing armies at the Red
Sea (19:1-5), while the people of Israel, crossing the Red Sea, experienced a
virtually new creation, as they found nature assisting them in their journey
toward the Promised Land (19:6-12).

This Sunday’s Reading, an excerpt of this larger
discussion, stresses the vigilance of the Israelites on the night of the
Passover, during which their sacrificial offerings in secret—namely, the
Passover lamb that they were sacrificing and eating in doors in safety from the
Angel of Death—protected them from the plague that afflicted the
Egyptians.In this episode from Israel’s
sacred history, we see an example of vigilance, but also how vigilance is
related to worship.The Israelites kept
vigil through the night of the Passover while they awaited their deliverance,
and the vigil took the form of a liturgical sacrifice.So it is with us.We need to stay vigilant through the “night”
of this life, and the one of our tools of vigilance is participation in the New
Passover, the Eucharist.By weekly or
even daily participation in the Eucharistic liturgy, we stay spiritually awake
and alert, conscious of sin and yet growing in holiness, contemplating the
things of God as we await Christ’s coming.

2.The Responsorial
Psalm Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22:

R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.Exult, you
just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.R. Blessed the people the Lord has
chosen to be his own.See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.R. Blessed the people the Lord has
chosen to be his own.Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.R. Blessed the people the Lord has
chosen to be his own.

Our Psalm reiterates themes from the First
Reading: the blessing of being part of God’s chosen nation; God’s care and
deliverance for those who “hope” in him; the vigilance of God’s people as they “wait
for the LORD.”

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
—and Sarah herself was sterile—
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar
and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said,
“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

We have just finished a month of Readings from
Colossians, and the Lectionary now moves into a three-week sequence from the
Book of Hebrews.For whatever reason,
the Lectionary splits up the Book of Hebrews and reads the doctrinal portion
(Heb 1-10) during the last several weeks of Year B (leading into Christ the
King), but the exhortation portion (Heb 11-13) is read now, on Weeks 19-21 of
Year C.

In light of the theme of vigilance and
preparedness as we wait for the Lord, this Reading from Hebrews has much to
say.The sacred author of Hebrews points
out that the great saints of the Old Testament lived their entire lives in a
state of “alert anticipation,” or “prepared patience.”They waited in faith their entire lives for
promises that were not visibly realized prior to their deaths.Abraham, for example, was promised the land of
Canaan but died owning only a single small plot of it.Abraham and the other Old Testament heroes
lived lives of faith, detached from
the things of the world because they were nomads on the earth, journeying
toward God’s promise but not settling down.The sacred author asserts that ultimately their faith and hope were
focused beyond this life, in God himself.In this, they set us an example.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

This first unit of the Gospel Reading emphasizes
the theme of poverty that we discussed last week.Jesus calls his disciples “little flock,”
implying that he is the Shepherd, and thus drawing on much shepherd imagery and
prophecy of the Old Testament.We could
mention Ezekiel 34, the great shepherd prophecy, or Psalm 23:

The LORD is my shepherd,

I shall lack nothing …

Psalm 23 is a particularly appropriate
background text for Jesus’ teaching in this Gospel, because it is faith in Jesus the Good Shepherd who will
provide everything we need that enables us to “sell our belongings and give
alms,” that is, live a life of simplicity, poverty, and generosity.There is a tremendous freedom and joy that
comes from not being burdened down with too many possessions and the concern to
maintain them all.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”

In this next
paragraph, Jesus moves into discussing the active vigilance that should
characterize the Christian life.The
image of Passover lies in the background—the great liturgical vigil when Israel
awaited the arrival of the LORD to take them away and betroth them to himself
at Sinai.Thus the imagery of staying
awake on a wedding night.

Jesus says the
master will return and “wait” on the servants while they “recline at table.”This was not ancient custom—no master would
come home and then wait on his servants.This is, however, Eucharist and eschatological imagery.We “wait” for the LORDduring the Eucharistic celebration, and at
communion the celebrant “waits” on us and serves us the meal as we “recline” at
the table of the LORD.This in itself is
a type and anticipation of the Heavenly Banquet, our eternal reward.

What does it mean
to speak of the “coming of the Son of Man”?

In the first
sense, it refers to Jesus Second Coming at the end of time, to judge all
mankind.No one knows when this will
arrive.

In the second
sense, this refers to Jesus coming for us at the hour of death, which likewise
we do not know.

In the third
sense, this refers to a “visitation” from the Lord in a season of testing, a
time when Jesus may come to us to test our faith, as the LORD did to Abraham in
Genesis 22 as mentioned in our First Reading.

For all these “comings”
of the LORD we need to be ready and alert, that is, not given over to
indulgence of the threefold concupiscence: Lust of the Flesh (lust, gluttony,
etc.), Lust of the Eyes (greed, avarice, attachment), and Pride.A life of prayer, penance (like small mortifications and periodic fasting), and
frequenting the Sacraments constitutes “vigilance.”Such a lifestyle keeps the spirit from
becoming sluggish due to indulgence of the flesh.

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Is it just an accident that in response to Peter’s question, the Lord begins to
talk about a “faithful and wise steward”
who will be put in charge of all the servants?Matthew 16:18-19, when read in light of Isa 22:22ff, demonstrates that
Jesus appointed Peter as the royal steward of his kingdom.For myself I am convinced that this portion
of Luke 12 is St. Luke’s equivalent of Matt 16:18-19.It is the passage of his Gospel that lays out
the petrine role in the Church.

Peter and his successors are the “faithful and
prudent steward” appointed over all the servants to “give them their food at
the proper time,” that is, to provide the Sacraments, especially the
Eucharist.Yet we have had the bad popes
(like the Borgias) that abused the servants and used their position for their
own pleasures—they will face judgment.

This whole parable gives us a picture of the
role of papacy as we await the Second Coming.The pope is the wise steward, the “head butler”, who keeps us rallied
together and makes sure we’re all fed and carrying out our tasks while we wait
for the master to come back.Pope
Francis has been doing an excellent job in the past few months.He’s been particularly urging us to practice
the poverty and simplicity recommended in the beginning of this Gospel reading.

The varying degrees of punishment, based on each
one’s knowledge and therefore culpability, may refer either to hell or to
purgatory.In any event, it teaches us
that punishment in the afterlife will not be “one size fits all,” but the
severity of punishment for wickedness in this life will be proportionate to the
amount of revelation we have received.The spiritual tradition refers to this as being “judged according to
one’s lights”, that is, according to the “light” (i.e. revelation, information
received about God and salvation) each one experienced.How sobering, then, for those who are
teachers, priests, superiors, professors, or other kinds of spiritual leaders!They have had so much education: woe be to
them if they pervert what they have received! Thus Jesus says“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it
would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he
were thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42).